A quick, faith(full) craft for young nature lovers

Monday

Apr 22, 2013 at 9:25 AMApr 22, 2013 at 7:10 PM

I so appreciate other bloggers who offer simple ways to share faith with kids, so here is my humble, clunky contribution… My young Benjamin loves nature and animals. I wanted him to know that God loves those things, too, so I pulled together a homemade workbook for a recent trip to the zoo. I wrote [...]

simplyfaithful

I so appreciate other bloggers who offer simple ways to share faith with kids, so here is my humble, clunky contribution…

Stained glass window at Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, NY.

My young Benjamin loves nature and animals. I wanted him to know that God loves those things, too, so I pulled together a homemade workbook for a recent trip to the zoo. I wrote out scriptures about God and His creation, included the song “All Things Bright and Beautiful” and added a few coloring pages and mazes, along with a recycled envelope for holding maps and pamphlets.

We took the workbook with us and, while we were at the zoo, Benjamin studied the animals so he could get the colors just right. We took field notes and plan to add our own snapshots and more coloring pages before our next trip.

If I had thought of it more than 12 hours before I needed it, I might have made it cuter but Benjamin didn’t seem to mind at all! Some snapshots:

Also, there are two books I’d recommend if you’d like to reinforce how much God loves His creation and His creatures: “All Things Bright and Beautiful” by Ashley Bryan, who illustrated the book by cutting out images with his mother’s embroidery scissors, and “Shiny Touchy Smelly Creation Story” by Joanna Bicknell. You’ve really got to see these.